It’ll be Florida’s offense vs. Houston’s defense in a showdown of No. 1 seeds in the Alamodome.
SAN ANTONIO — The No. 2 Houston Cougars square off against the No. 3 Florida Gators in the NCAA Tournament National Championship. Monday’s meeting is the first this season between the two squads. Houston is 22-1 against the Big 12, and Florida is 18-4 against the SEC.
TIPOFF TIME AND PLACE
7:50 p.m. at the Alamodome in San Antonio
HOW TO WATCH
The game will be LIVE on KHOU 11! You can also join us for our watch party in downtown Houston.
OVERALL RECORDS
Florida Gators (35-4, 18-4 SEC) vs. Houston Cougars (35-4, 22-1 Big 12)
WHO IS FAVORED TO WIN
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK has the Gators as 1.5-point favorite to win. The over-under is 141.5.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE MATCHUP
No. 2 Houston takes on No. 3 Florida in the NCAA Tournament National Championship.
The Cougars’ record in Big 12 play is 22-1, and their record is 13-3 in non-conference games. Houston leads college basketball at limiting opponent scoring, allowing 58.5 points while holding opponents to 38.2% shooting.
The Gators’ record in SEC action is 18-4. Florida is 2-1 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
Houston makes 45.2% of its shots from the field this season, which is 5.1 percentage points higher than Florida has allowed to its opponents (40.1%). Florida has shot at a 47.3% rate from the field this season, 9.1 percentage points higher than the 38.2% shooting opponents of Houston have averaged.
TOP PERFORMERS
LJ Cryer is scoring 15.6 points per game and averaging 2.3 rebounds for the Cougars. Emanuel Sharp is averaging 2.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Walter Clayton Jr. is shooting 39.3% from beyond the arc with 3.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Gators, while averaging 18.5 points and 4.1 assists. Alijah Martin is shooting 51.0% and averaging 14.2 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES
Cougars: 10-0, averaging 71.3 points, 34.6 rebounds, 10.8 assists, 7.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 41.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 59.9 points per game.
Gators: 10-0, averaging 89.6 points, 38.8 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 5.7 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 48.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.2 points.